Certain plants, such as members of the Sapindaceae family and edible plants like sorghum and lima beans, contain cyanogenic secondary metabolites. Plants store their cyanogenic secondary metabolites in compartments separated from catabolic or hydrolyzing enzymes. The breakdown of the cyanogenic secondary metabolites and subsequent cyanide (CN—) liberation does not occur until damage to the plant causes mixing of the enzyme and substrate components. Cyanogenic secondary metabolites are stable in the absence of a catabolic enzyme.